Achievement, affiliation, and gender

This study examined gender differences in the relationship between achievement and affiliation needs in high-aspiring undergraduate students. Previous research has concluded that women inhibit achievement behavior due to fears of success and loss of affiliative ties, or they restrict achievement behavior to sex role-appropriate domains. Recent research has noted positive correlations between high levels of achievement and affiliative needs in females, but not in males. The relationship between the two needs was of particular interest in a group of subjects who have demonstrated high achievement aspirations in their academic performance.

Subjects were 66 female and 65 male Honors students at the University of Tennessee. The Jackson Personality Research Form and Tellegen Differential Personality Questionnaire were used to obtain two independent measures of achievement and affiliation needs. Hypotheses were tested concerning possible gender differences in the relationship between achievement and affiliation, in the validity and reliability of the scales, and in the interrelationships with eight related needs.

Correlations between the two achievement and two affiliation scales were negative for both sexes, but significantly so only on two correlations for women. The measures were free of gender differences in convergent validity or reliability. Significant correlations with other needs indicated positive relationships between Achievement and Control, Dominance, Endurance, Nurturance, and Social Recognition for men. Among women. Achievement was positively linked with Endurance and negatively linked with Social Closeness. For both sexes, affillative scales were positively linked with Exhibition and Nurturance, and negatively linked with Autonomy. Affiliation was positively linked with Dominance and Social Potency, and negatively linked with Endurance for men only. Affiliation was positively linked with Social Recognition for women only.

These women and men were highly similar in their need scores and factor structure. Discriminant analysis indicated no overall gender differences in the patterns of interrelationships between needs. However, gender differences in individual correlations between scales stimulated four possible explanations. Issues of power, leadership, and influence had less relevance to either achievement or affiliation among women, which could be explained either in terms of "female deficit" or "psychological difference" theories. The fact that a number of needs relating to achievement and affiliation all cluster together for men could be explained by "simplistic male" or "content bias" theories. The male model of achievement based on competition and status appears to be less applicable to women's experience. It is concluded that further development of theory and models is needed to clarify issues which are salient for women.